


Echoes Of A Time That Never Happened

by unluckyxse7en



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Ancestors (Homestuck), Ancestors with Pre-Scratch Names, Beforus (Homestuck), Dancestors - Freeform, Gen, Pre-Sgrub, Trollian (Homestuck), gentle angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:34:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22248694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unluckyxse7en/pseuds/unluckyxse7en
Summary: Kankri Vantas has been plagued with dreams of another world. In an attempt to find understanding, he seeks solace in his friend Porrim Maryam.
Relationships: Porrim Maryam & Kankri Vantas
Comments: 8
Kudos: 22





	1. Definitely Not Prospit

**Author's Note:**

> Long time no post, here's something I started ages ago! I've always adored the concept that Signless knew about Beforus, and wanted to take the idea in the opposite direction of Kankri knowing about what happened to him and his friends on Alternia.  
> That said, I've only really read through Act 6 and Openbound once, and also am choosing to ignore some canon personality traits in favor of characters that are a little more balanced and realistic as people. So please be aware - there will probably be some ooc and I will be unapologetic about it. (Tbh consider the alternative fic title 'Kankri has dreams that make him appreciate his friends more because Porrim deserves better dammit'.)  
> Character tags are current to what I've written so far, I don't plan on expanding too far beyond this cast to keep it short and sweet but no promises. Enjoy! ;)  
> \------------  
> Chapter warnings: N/A

Kankri jolted awake, his recuperacoon jostling from the sudden movement. Breathing shallow, his eyes darted around as he tried to gain a sense of his surroundings, pulling himself a little bit out of the shell of the 'coon for better visibility. What greeted his nervous looks were his own respiteblock, ordinary in every way, the only unusual detail being a sharp block of light cutting through the window and pooling onto the floor. Sunlight. It was still daytime. 

Kankri began to steady his breathing.   
" Another dream," he mumbled to himself, pulling his body out of the recuperacoon. Realizing what he said, he chuckled to himself, bitterly. 

A dream. If only. Deep down, he knew better. With a shake of his head, he grabbed a nearby towel to dry off, scrubbing any excess sopor slime off his skin. 

Kankri was fairly certain he was going to be awake all day after that. He wasn't sure he wanted to even try sleeping again. Anytime he did, he kept having those... incidents, with his sleep. And they were getting more frequent. More vivid. It was becoming admittedly distressing. Even now, he could feel phantom touches and sensations from before he woke. 

Kankri shuddered involuntarily, rubbing distractedly at his lower arms. He needed to find something else to occupy his attention. But what? 

His eyes roved around the room, flicking past posters on social behaviors, recorded lectures of prevalent Beforan therapists.... until his gaze finally alighted on his husktop. Kankri hummed in thought, debating on the pros and cons of even attempting to reach out to the others. Well... It wouldn't wake them, and it would certainly occupy his mind some. Ideally speaking, of course. 

Settling himself down at his desk, cracking the husktop open, Kankri booted up the trollian app and eyed his friend roll for names. He felt an aversion to the high bloods, unsurprisingly. They hadn't done anything specifically, and intellectually he knew that, but still... Kankri bit his lower lip, partially out of nervous habit, partially to ground himself. He was trying not to think about it. This was a useless exercise if it only encouraged him to focus more on it. 

Instead, his eyes were drawn to the mid bloods. Greens and yellows. He hummed again, humming the rhythms of names, humming along with the motions of his cursor, humming meaningless little sound bites that rattled and clicked in his thorax. After much deliberation, involving consideration of who would most likely be awake, who he'd most like to converse with, and why... 

Eventually, his cursor settled next to a dull yellow dot. TA. He was sometimes awake at unusual hours, mostly due to playing games. Why not give him a shot?

-celibateGesticulator [CG] began trolling traumatizedApocalypse[TA]-  
CG: Mituna are y9u awake?  
CG: and if s9, are y9u 6y chance actually availa6le f9r c9nversati9n and n9t s9 wrapped up in th9se "R4D" games 9f y9urs that y9u've tuned 9ut all external input?  
CG: #tw quirk ad9pti9n #n9n-aut9quirk usage #unintenti9nal punnage 9n name  
CG: Mituna?  
CG: ...   
CG: I see. Well, either way, it is 9f n9 matter. I'll find an9ther chance t9 discuss things with y9u later, if need 6e.   
-celibateGesticulator[CG] ceased trolling traumatizedApocalypse[TA]-

Kankri stared at his screen contemplatively, somewhat cursing himself for expecting that to go any other way. As far as he was concerned, this was only symbolic on a greater level of how Mituna wasn't exactly the most considerate when it came to the awareness of others and their needs or signals, in all honesty. This was of course, Kankri’s hurt pride talking, but he would never consider it that way. 

No matter, Kankri thought with a decisive huff. There were still others he could try.   
Kankri tentatively considered trying to message Meulin, but.... that idea sounded needlessly complicated and trying. In many senses. Having conflicted feelings that didn't even seem to belong to him, over a troll who liked to send obnoxious gifs with "MOG!!!! =^•w•^=" or some variation thereof, every other sentence in the conversation... to put it simply, was not an enthralling idea for Kankri. Not right now. He just didn't have the energy.   
Unsure of whom else he wanted to try trolling, Kankri sat forward in his seat, nudging his cursor towards the green dot on his friend roll. It was a long shot, but perhaps she'd be willing to provide a listening ear. 

-celibateGesticulator[CG] began trolling gothicAdvocate[GA]-  
CG: P9rrim?  
GA: Kankri?  
GA: What Are Yo+u Do+ing Up At This Ho+ur?  
CG: 9h g99d, y9u're awake.   
CG: I ap9l9gize f9r c9ntacting y9u at such a late h9ur, 6ut I had a question I was h9ping I c9uld perhaps ask y9u?  
CG: 9f c9urse if y9u give me just a sec9nd I'll list all the p9tential triggers this may 6ring up, s9 that y9u can make a m9re relia6le decisi9n 9n whether 9r n9t it's a question y9u'd 6e a6le t9 answer.   
GA: Kankri Please, Yo+u Already Know All O+f My Po+tential Triggers. There's No+thing New In That Department As O+f When We Last Spo+ke Three Ho+urs Ago+.  
GA: Is Everything O+k? It's No+t Like Yo+u To+ Be Up This Late.   
GA: I'm Wo+rried. 

Kankri hesitated, staring at the jade text. He could hear her voice now, laced with concern and acceptance before she even knew what the problem was. As always - even in those visions - Porrim proved to be such a strong support for him. Not that he could bring himself to ever admit to that. His pride wouldn't allow it.   
Fighting every impulse to just pour everything out to her, Kankri typed out his response carefully;

CG: I am physically well, if that is part 9f y9ur c9ncerns.   
CG: 6ut I d9 have s9mething I w9uld like t9 discuss with y9u.  
CG: And if I'm 6eing h9nest... perhaps even seek y9ur c9unsel.   
GA: Kanny, I'm No+t Sure I Find That Reassuring.   
GA: Yo+u... Actually Want To+ Hear My Advice O+n So+mething?  
CG: Please d9 n9t call me that.   
CG: And... Yes.  
CG: Yes... I w9uld appreciate anything y9u might have t9 9ffer.   
CG: Please.

Kankri watched the screen, more anxiously than he wanted to admit. For a time, long enough it felt like each second was a practical sweep, there was no reply. Just when Kankri was about to back out, tell her to never mind, he was assuredly just rambling and being half-asleep, her response blinked onto the chatroll. 

GA: I'm Here Fo+r Yo+u Kankri. Yo+u Kno+w That.   
GA: What's O+n Yo+ur Mind?

Never had such words been such a relief for Kankri. It was as if they had rolled off the screen and lilted through him like a gentle breeze, easing his anxiety as they did and replacing it with a sense of ease. It was like Home. 

Kankri froze, hands hovering over the keyboard, as he realized what he was feeling. This wasn't right. These weren't his feelings. 

This had to stop. Something had to change. 

Kankri breathed in again, steeling himself against those impulses, those feelings. It didn't actually seem to assuage them any, but it gave him the chance to think, rather than react. 

GA: Kankri? Are Yo+u Still There?  
CG: Yes.   
CG: Yes, I am. S9rry, P9rrim.   
CG: I was de6ating 9n the 6est way t9 start.  
CG: The 6est way t9 v9ice what has 6een 9ccupying me 9f late.   
GA: Just Do+ Yo+ur Best.  
CG: Thank y9u.  
CG: Have y9u   
CG: Well  
CG: When y9u sleep, and have dreams…  
CG: Have y9u ever  
CG: Dreamt 9f s9meplace here, 6ut n9t here?  
CG: S9meplace that seems s9 real, s9meplace that keeps c9ming up in y9ur dreams again and again?  
GA: Yo+u Do+n't Mean Pro+spit, Do+ Yo+u, Kankri?

Kankri stared at the screen, and sighed. No. Of course she didn't know. Why had he even bothered? Now he felt like a fool for ever mentioning it. 

CG: N9, I'm afraid n9t.   
CG: Never mind. I'm sure it's just s9me repetiti9us dream f9rmulated 6y my psyche f9r s9me yet-t9-6e-seen purp9se.   
CG: As all dreams are.   
GA: Kankri, Ho+ld O+n.  
GA: If It's Bo+thering Yo+u This Much, Then It Must Be More Impo+rtant Than That.   
GA: Why Do+n't Yo+u Co+me O+ver To+ My Hive This Evening, And We Can Talk It O+ut?  
CG: Y9u d9n't mean this as a pale s9licitati9n, d9 y9u??  
GA: No+, Kankri.   
GA: I'm Saying This As A Friend.   
GA: A Friend Who+ Is Co+ncerned Abo+ut Yo+u And Kno+ws Yo+u Must No+t Have Anyo+ne Else To+ Turn To+ If Yo+u're Asking Me Abo+ut It.   
CG: I'm n9t sure...  
GA: I Pro+mise Yo+u There Will Be No+ Unwanted Pale So+licitatio+ns O+r Actio+ns.   
GA: I'm No+t Cro+nus, After All. I Keep My Wo+rd O+n Such Matters.   
CG: N9, my ap9l9gies. That hadn't 6een my c9ncern.   
CG: I d9 trust y9u t9 keep y9ur w9rd, alth9ugh I d9 6elieve 9ur definiti9ns 9f 'pale' vary.   
CG: 6ut that was n9t the c9re 9f my hesitati9n.   
CG: This... May 6e m9re pers9nal than I realize.   
CG: Dreams d9 9ften carry a l9t 9f sym69lism n9t always inherently 96vi9us t9 the dreamer.   
CG: Perhaps I sh9uld n9t have 6r9ught this up. My ap9l9gies.   
GA: Kankri, I'm No+t Go+ing To+ Judge Yo+u Fo+r Whatever This Is Abo+ut.   
GA: Unless It's So+mething Rather Salacio+us In An O+bjectifying Manner.   
CG: P9RRIM  
CG: #caps l9ck #harsh t9ne implied #N9 punctuati9n  
GA: ... Did Yo+u Serio+usly Just Hashtag Yo+ur O+utburst In O+ur Private Messages.   
GA: Kanny, Yo+u Are Abso+lutely Ridiculo+us, Yo+u Kno+w That?  
GA: That Was A Jo+ke By The Way.   
GA: I Kno+w Yo+u Well Eno+ugh To+ Kno+w Yo+u Wo+uldn't Ever Breathe A Wo+rd To+ Me O+f Anything Even Remo+tely Pro+miscuo+us In Nature.   
GA: Unless Yo+u Go+t It Into+ Yo+ur Head That Yo+u Had To+ Seek Repentance.   
GA: That's No+t What This Is, Right?  
CG: P9rrim, as much as I respect y9u, I will n9t stand idly 6y and let y9u c9ntinue t9 drag my g99d name thr9ugh the mud in this manner.  
GA: Kanny That Was Also+ A Jo+ke...  
GA: Never Mind.   
GA: What I Was Go+ing To+ Say, Is Yo+u Do+n't have To+ Make A Decisio+n Abo+ut Co+ming O+ver No+w. Yo+u Can Wait Until Later If Yo+u Need.   
GA: My Hive Do+o+rs Are Always O+pen To+ You.   
CG: P9rrim, I d9 n9t appreciate y9ur sense 9f hum9r, 9r y9ur insistence 9n referring t9 me as Kanny.   
CG: 6ut  
CG: That aside,  
CG: Thank y9u. I'll think a69ut it.   
CG: 6ut given h9w early it is, I think I'm g9ing t9 try sleeping first. I'll message you later t9night if I still need t9 talk.   
GA: Yo+u Do+ Whatever Yo+u Need To+, Kankri.   
GA: I'll Talk To+ Yo+u Later. 

-celibateGesticulator[CG] ceased trolling gothicAdvocate[GA]-

Kankri leaned back in his chair with a muted sigh, evaluating the chat, rereading bits and pieces as his thinkpan processed everything. Porrim had no clue what he was talking about, but was encouraging him to talk to her... Maybe this was a mistake. What would he do after he told Porrim about it? What would SHE do? He couldn't bear to think about it. He tried to imagine scenarios that didn't end badly - or awkwardly - but he failed on both counts. This wouldn't help anything to dwell on it. 

Kankri yawned, clicking out of the window and turning off the computer. Perhaps he was just so addled from waking up in the middle of the day. Things always seemed more overwhelming in the heat of the day, with the undead roaming around and the rays of the sun threatening to strip the layers off of your carapace. Surely it was just the psychological effect such conditions had on the sleep-deprived brain of an adolescent troll that had led to him blabbing, Kankri reminded himself. Just watch, he'd climb back into the recuperacoon, get some good rest, and wake up feeling so refreshed that it would be a simple matter to pass off this daytime chat as a flight of nightmare-addled fancy. 

Feeling emboldened by his analyzation and recognition of psychological prowess, Kankri undressed, folding the clothes nearby for later use given how little he'd actually been in them for, and climbed back into the recuperacoon, shutting his eyes and letting the gently chilled touch of the slime kiss his outer shell. As drowsiness turned into dozing, Kankri's last thought was that he would have some good dreams this time. He could feel it.


	2. This time, another time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe it's just a dream happening now... or maybe, somewhere across time and space, it's more of a 'meanwhile'...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((Finally posting this! There's... no reason I hadn't before now, I just kept forgetting woops. Hopefully it was worth the wait!  
> The title is probably obvious but since i posted these so far apart... it's a reference to the last few lines of the previous chapter. Haha  
> Anyways I should have made this fic about these two instead, they're really refreshing to write.  
> Enjoy!))

"COME BACK HERE MUTANT FILTH!" 

The troll flinched from the shouts behind him, breathing ragged as he fled from the mob. His lungs ached more than his cheek stung, now, and he'd long given up trying to wipe away the traitorous trails of bright red streaking down his face. It would have been pointless anyways. As he ran through the underbrush, carnivorous plants and their thorns scraped and scratched at him, red blooming against his dusty skin as fresh cuts formed on his arms and legs. If he got caught by anyone, he'd be a goner.  
If only he could just go a little further. Just a little more. 

The troll stumbled, then, a dark gnarled root reaching up from the sodden soil, and he couldn't help the yelp of surprise. Some deity up above must have heard his pleas, as he avoided falling entirely, but the pain in his troddingstump and that moment of a desperate loss of balance slowed him down just enough. He could hear the brush rustling closer now, the shouts getting louder. The troll's breathing hitched in panic, as he risked a look backwards. This was it oh no oh no oh no oh no---

A hiss sliced through the air, glowing eyes stepping out from the darkness of the forest. The shouts behind the troll halted, startled, as an adult troll now stepped forward, snarling violently as her eyes gleamed. 

"Who dares threaten my child?" She roared, placing a protective, clawed hand around the troll's back, pulling him close to her. The pursuers hesitated, responses and questions murmured amongst themselves. The adult troll growled, glowing eyes narrowing in contempt.  
"I said," she started, her carapace beginning to emit a phosphorus light.  
"Who DARES threaten my child?" She stomped a strutpod down, her shell now giving off light almost as intense as the Alternian sun itself. The would-be attackers hissed defensively, shielding their eyes from the sudden burst of light. The younger troll covered his ganderbulbs as well, burying his face into the robes of the adult troll as her hissing intensified in volume. As their eyes began to adjust to the light, cries of recognition rose up from the small crowd. 

"Oh, shit!!!! A Rainbowdrinker!!"  
"Give up on the scum, run!!!" The leader of the pack yelled, and all the enemy trolls turned tail and ran back into the brush from whence they came. 

The Dolorosa stood there, still as a statue, as she listened carefully to their retreat. She could not afford to lower her guard until she knew they were all gone. She held her youngling tightly to her with her one hand pressing against his small back, not even risking to loosen the grasp until things were all clear. 

After what seemed like perigees had passed, The Dolorosa finally relaxed, releasing her grip on her ward's back as she scaled back her vampiric glow.  
"Are you alright?" Her voice was soft and lilting now, as gentle a zephyr as it had been a raging typhoon before. The boy didn't answer at first, still clinging to her leg. 

"Kanny," she urged, patiently, shifting her leg away just enough to help him snap out of it. The boy gasped lightly, risking a glance towards where the danger had been. 

"They're gone now," The Dolorosa said. "But we'll have to keep going, now. Can you travel?" 

The boy looked up at her, eyes wide and full of many emotions - the fading panic, uncertainty, guilt, apology. The Dolorosa studied him for a moment, eyes lingering on the red stains on his cheek, before taking a claw and, with a brief lick to its tip, running it gently across the boy's face, rubbing the blood from his soft shell. Despite himself, the boy let a laugh bubble up from inside him, pulling away a little in a mixture of embarrassment and wincing from the sting. 

"Stop, I'm fine!" He giggled, grinning up at her. The Dolorosa smiled warmly back.  
"Now there's the Kanny I know and love," she cooed, cradling his face in her hands. The boy squirmed, still giggling, but he was unable to escape the tender pinches of her adoring claws. After a few more loving pokes and prods, The Dolorosa scooped up the boy in her arms, holding him up to eye level as she spun with him.  
"I'm gonna eat you!!" She threatened with a feisty chuckle, causing the boy's laughter to revive as the two spun. 

"Stop it, stop it, I'm too old for that now!" He laughed, trying to keep her away with a hand pressed to her forehead. The Dolorosa stopped, the mischievous look still in her eyes.

"Oh, are you?" She asked innocently. The boy nodded an affirmative as firmly as he could, trying to straighten up and puff out his chest. 

"Well, in that case... you must be too old for this then, too!" And before the boy could reply, The Dolorosa was raspberrying him on his lower thorax, causing the fits of laughter to return once more. 

Once the fun had died down, the two of them were laying on the ground breathless with laughter after a good bout of wrestling. There were still tickles of laughter in The Dolorosa's voice as she sat up and spoke. 

"We'd better keep moving. We'll want to have our camp set up before sunrise tonight." She stood, offering a hand to the younger troll. He took her hand without hesitation, his smile fading as he noticed her change in demeanor. 

"Do we really have to move? You scared them all so well this time, they won't be back," the boy complained, standing up and fixing the threadbare cape wrapped around his shoulders. The Dolorosa's expression sobered. 

"Yes, Kanny. I'm afraid we must. You see, they may be gone for today, but they will be back come tomorrow night. And they will not be alone. " she took his hand, leading him deeper into the forest.  
"I know it must be hard to keep moving like this. It won't be forever. I promise, you'll have a safe place to live, someday..."


End file.
